1. Technical Field
The present embodiments relate to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically, to a system and method for maintaining a communication channel between two or more communicating parties in the event that one or more of those parties moves into a low coverage or no coverage area for communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Techniques for mobile communication are well known in the art. One technique is illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring FIG. 1, when a Party A wants to communicate with a Party B using a telephony system 100, Party A uses a telephony device 140 to initiate a call via their telecommunications provider 130. The telecommunications provider 130 communicates through a network 125 to a wireless telecommunications provider 120, which completes the call to device 110 used by Party B.
Referring to FIG. 2, wireless coverage provided by a wireless telecommunications provider is illustratively shown. A mobile party wanting to travel from point A 221 to point B 222 would have their telecommunications needs serviced by a series of four cells 211, 212, 213, and 214. Despite enjoying widespread wireless coverage as illustratively shown in coverage map 200 of FIG. 2, there still remain gaps in communication.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a mobile party wishing to travel from point A 221 to point C 223 would experience a gap in service at both point D 224 and point F 226. As the mobile party traveling from point A 221 to point C 223 passed through point E 225, communication would degrade and would eventually be lost entirely as the mobile party reached point F 226. When the mobile party later reached point G 227, communication would again be possible.
These gaps in coverage are not likely to disappear for the foreseeable future. Depending upon the size of the gap, a user who moves into such an area may quickly move back into an area where communication is again possible (e.g., a mobile party passing through point D 224) or they may be unable to communicate for an extended period of time (e.g., a mobile party proceeding from point E 225 to point H 228 via point F 226).
For the parties attempting to carry on a conversation, it is, at best, inconvenient to be disconnected. At worst, the disconnection may cause greater issues other than merely ending the conversation prematurely (e.g., a call to a service center where the calling party would have to restart the call from the beginning or when the caller has been forwarded and does not know how to re-open the communication channel easily).
Existing telecommunications systems degrade the connection when the mobile party enters an area where coverage is weak and drop the connection when a user enters an area where there is no coverage. Degrading the connection and dropping the call can significantly disrupt the operation. There remains a need for telecommunications system to seamlessly handle areas where wireless coverage is weak or non-existent.